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Promising Practices

The Promising Practices database informs professionals and community members about documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life.

The ultimate goal is to support the systematic adoption, implementation, and evaluation of successful programs, practices, and policy changes. The database provides carefully reviewed, documented, and ranked practices that range from good ideas to evidence-based practices.
Learn more about the ranking methodology.

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The Southern Maryland Tri-County Community Action Committee, Inc. (SMTCCAC) (Maryland)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes

Goal: The mission of this organization is to provide services for eligible citizens that alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty, promote upward mobility, and enrich the quality of life.

Triple P - Positive Parenting Program: Palm Beach County (Palm Beach County, FL)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families

Goal: Triple P aims to enhance the knowledge, skills, and confidence of parents to prevent behavioral, emotional, and developmental problems in children and prevent child maltreatment.

Impact: Triple P increased confidence in parenting ability and reduced the incidence of verified maltreatment among participants in the program.

Trying Alternative Cafeteria Options in Schools (TACOS) (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of the TACOS program was to use an environmental intervention to increase the availability and consumption of lower-fat foods in a la carte areas of secondary school cafeterias.

Impact: The TACOS program successfully increased both the availability and sale of lower-fat foods in a la carte areas of secondary school cafeterias.

Vaccination Programs: Provider Reminders

CDC

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases

Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends provider reminders—when used alone or when combined with additional interventions—to increase vaccination rates among people of all ages from different populations or settings.

Alabama Breast and Cervical Cancer Coalition (ABCCC) (Alabama)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: To mobilize African American communities, public and community-based organizations and optimize resources to eliminate the disparity in breast and cervical cancer morbidity and mortality between African American and Caucasian women.

All Children Excel (ACE) (Ramsey County, MN)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent delinquency, substance abuse, and school dropout in high risk children.

Beginning Education Early: Strengthening Rural Alabama Families (Choctaw County, AL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families, Rural

Goal: The BEE Program seeks to strengthen parents' abilities to provide the physical and emotional support necessary for children's healthy growth and development by giving them otherwise unavailable access to parenting and early childhood education.

Black Women’s Media Project (Berkeley)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: To address the detrimental impact of alcohol on women in the African American community.

Bob Janes Triage Center and Low Demand Shelter (Fort Myers, FL)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Bob Janes Triage Center and Low Demand Shelter is to reduce the number of individuals with mental illness or substance use disorders who are arrested and sent to the County jail for minor offenses.

Communities for All Ages

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment

Goal: The goal of the CFAA initiative is to promote community building across ages. The life span approach promotes the well-being of children, youth, and older adults; strengthens families; and provides opportunities for ongoing interaction across ages.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.

A Good Idea meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
  2. The program evaluation is limited to descriptive measure(s) of success/accomplishment (i.e., program participation rates, number of services/education sessions/radio messages provided). Note: oftentimes, the program has been newly implemented and a program evaluation has not yet been conducted. Programs that have not yet been evaluated, but which show promise in improving health or quality of life, are classified as Good Ideas until an evaluation is conducted.

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.